Vehicles, such as automobiles, may include equipment for mitigating the impact of collisions. For example, many vehicles include equipment such as safety belts, airbags and energy absorption mechanisms to help protect passengers in the event of a collision with another vehicle. In another example, a vehicle may include equipment such as bumper- or hood-mounted airbags and hood-lifting systems to help protect a pedestrian that collides with the vehicle. It is desirable to supplement such protection mechanisms within the bounds of a typical architecture for such a vehicle.